KUALA LUMPUR: The Retirement Fund Incorporated’s (KWAP) US$47.7mil (about RM200mil) investment in Indonesian agritech startup eFishery was the victim of an orchestrated fraud, the Finance Ministry confirmed.
In a parliamentary written reply dated July 15, the ministry explained that KWAP’s July 2023 investment followed a robust evaluation and governance process. This included internal assessments, independent due diligence, and the verification of financial statements by certified international auditors.
KWAP invested alongside a consortium of reputable international institutional investors, including Temasek, SoftBank, 42XFund, and Northstar, all of which conducted their own rigorous reviews. Despite these comprehensive safeguards, the startup's management successfully executed a well-planned fraud by manipulating its financial reports.
The consortium has since lodged reports with the relevant authorities and initiated legal action to recover the funds. Internally, KWAP completed a holistic review of the investment and presented the findings to its board for scrutiny, leading to subsequent actions taken under its institutional accountability framework.
The ministry was responding to a question from Wong Chen (PH-Subang) regarding accountability actions against KWAP’s board and senior management following the failed investment.
